Recommended tours or activities in Costa Maya

[consmatt]

We are looking for activities for our Mardi Gras cruise on November 13-20

[c-leg5]

Excursions from Costa Maya are limited at the best of times and consist of port activities, various beach bars of varying qualities along the malecon (5-10 minute taxi away), some beach breaks further afield , the water park or ruins. 
 

Very few ships have visited so far so difficult to assess what will be open, or available, for independent travel by November.
 

Difficult to make suggestions without knowing more about your group’s preferences, ages mobility? I suggest you read some old postings to see what might interest you  and then ask specific questions to see if anyone has done it since cruising resumed.

[consmatt]

Thanks for your reply. It is just me and my wife, we are in good shape and we are late 50's, early 60's. We enjoy snorkeling and outdoor activities. It has been 10 or so years since we have been at Costa Maya, just was really looking to see what was new at the port.

[Colorado Babe]

We are booked to go to Maya Chan in September. We're on a B2B so not sure what we will do on our second week.  Maya Chan is lovely.  It's a day pass and has kayaks, paddle boards, all - inclusive with a lovely lunch and unlimited drinks. They also offer massages on the beach.  Not sure how much they charge as it has been at least 3 years since our last visit.

[c-leg5]

On 8/20/2021 at 11:23 AM, consmatt said:

Thanks for your reply. It is just me and my wife, we are in good shape and we are late 50's, early 60's. We enjoy snorkeling and outdoor activities. It has been 10 or so years since we have been at Costa Maya, just was really looking to see what was new at the port.

If independent activities are allowed it is easy to get a taxi to the beach area 5-10 minutes away. The bars are all along one long beach. It is  difficult to know at this time which facilities have survived. (TripAdvisor will give you a better idea by checking which have recent reviews.) The bars at either end of malecon tend to be quieter, those in the middle louder and busier. Very little in the way of water sports, no inflatables etc. Mahahual is very laid back.

There used to be beach bikes and Segway’s available but no real route, just around the town and along malecon, (pedestrian way).

 

Some people have reported reasonable snorkeling from the beach at Blue Kay. Better snorkeling by getting a boat out to the reef. My personal favorite is Malecon22 and a couple we spoke to reported good snorkeling from a boat there. Of course this can vary according to conditions. Many places in this area suffer from sea grass and from March to November there can be bad sargassum.

 

By November Maya Chan, (AI popular cruisers hang-out, out of town that includes transport) hopes to have reopened but not open yet so no current reviews. They do have some paddle boards and kayaks, some snorkeling. 

Edited August 23, 2021 by c-leg5

[vdp]

On 8/23/2021 at 3:11 PM, c-leg5 said:

(...) Some people have reported reasonable snorkeling from the beach at Blue Kay. (...)

 

Actually there are areas accessible from the beach at Blue Kay that offer fantastic snorkeling but you'd have to go well beyond the roped area (which I've done many times and nobody seemed to mind). But I hear that getting to Blue Kay is very expensive nowadays (prior to pandemic it used to be $2-$3 pp one way for 3-4 people in a taxi).

[c-leg5]

On 8/25/2021 at 2:52 PM, vdp said:

 

Actually there are areas accessible from the beach at Blue Kay that offer fantastic snorkeling but you'd have to go well beyond the roped area (which I've done many times and nobody seemed to mind). But I hear that getting to Blue Kay is very expensive nowadays (prior to pandemic it used to be $2-$3 pp one way for 3-4 people in a taxi).

Yes, I have read good and bad reports of snorkeling and it probably depends a lot on the day and currents.  I haven’t tried personally but looking at the satellite map the reef certainly seems to be closer to the shore  there than some other locations.
 

I thought the ropes  were usually to protect you from boat traffic/ jet skis but I haven’t seen a significant amount of traffic there so not sure? Some of the beaches have offshore baffles to collect the sargassum.

 

I am not sure where you have read  about increased taxi fares? It has been $2pp for years but a few years ago they changed it to $8 per taxi for four people each way (still $2 if there are 4 of you, but a significant increase if there is only 1 or 2 in your party. A cruiser from last week reported this was still the current rate.

[vdp]

On 8/29/2021 at 1:12 PM, c-leg5 said:

 

 

I am not sure where you have read  about increased taxi fares? 

There were multiple reports within the last month and a half about "approved taxis only" in the port (most likely COVID related) but it looks like now things are back to "normal". 

[c-leg5]

28 minutes ago, vdp said:

There were multiple reports within the last month and a half about "approved taxis only" in the port (most likely COVID related) but it looks like now things are back to "normal". 

I read about “approved taxis” (whatever they might be) but I didn’t read they had increased fares unless you are talking about the ones that “included” cruise line/port beach pass.

[blueridgemama]

I was just doing some Google searches for day passes at some of the places on the Malecon and one website said that the taxi fare went up to $3

[c-leg5]

7 minutes ago, blueridgemama said:

I was just doing some Google searches for day passes at some of the places on the Malecon and one website said that the taxi fare went up to $3

was that at Jamie’s? That has been on their website since before cruising was suspended - I am not sure how long.
 

Don’t quote me on this but it may have been around the time they were changing from per person to per taxi. As with all things Mexican you can always try to haggle. Before cruising was suspended they had put a taxi “captain” at the dispatch, I don’t know if that is still happening.

[blueridgemama]

It was the Jamie's website where I saw it. 

[endymion6942]

My wife, friends and I have been to Maya Chan I’ve forgotten how many times.

it is a privately owned all inclusive day resort with a great beach, bar, and fresh cook buffet. The entire staff is super friendly and attentive.

Earlier ‘this week we had three different cruises booked for this December. The NCL Pearl was the only ship going to Costa Maya. The tie breaker for me was the fact that we will be able to go to Maya Chan during this cruise.

That should tell how much I love Maya Chan.